KENNESAW, Ga. | Mar 24, 2020

KSU students, gaming industry partner with Make-A-Wish Georgia

For more than 1,000 days, 14-year-old Ethan Daniel has fought childhood cancer.

Despite frequent hospital visits that prevent him from seeing his friends and family, he maintains a sense of normalcy through playing video games. Inspired by the positive effects of gaming, he set a goal of building a game that emulated his own life journey in fighting cancer, hoping to ignite a fire in others who share a similar path. With the support of Make-A-Wish Georgia, Kennesaw State University and gaming developers from Atlanta-based, Hi-Rez Studios, Ethan’s wish is set to become reality.

“To me, this is a way to grab some of the power back,” Ethan said. “When you’re in treatment, you don’t have much influence on your journey, but in a video game, you have the power to fight and beat cancer. I want other kids to be able to connect during their battle, and the gaming community is helping me do this.”

Recently, Ethan visited Kennesaw State as a special guest during Global Game Jam, an event held across multiple sites worldwide in which teams are given 48 hours to develop a video game. There, he was introduced to three teams of KSU students vying for the chance to build his game. In individual meetings with the teams, Ethan discussed his overall vision for the game, culminating with the main antagonist, Dr. Leuka, a maniacal robot which represented his struggle with leukemia.

Over the course of Global Game Jam, the College of Computing and Software Engineering students worked around the clock to build their own interpretations of Ethan’s game, presenting their works at the conclusion of the event with Ethan serving as a guest judge. The winning team, composed of students Chris Lee, John Murwin, Ryan Pruitt, Sonya Medina, David Herrod, Darius Brown, Jake Poole and Wei Long Wu, was selected to complete the game with the mentorship of local companies Hi-Rez Studios, Skillshot Media and KontrolFreek, and the Georgia Game Developers Association.

The game is scheduled to be finished and published widely by the summer, coinciding with Ethan’s final treatments.

“Contributing on something like this seemed like the chance of a lifetime,” said Lee, who is pursuing a degree in computer game design and development. “We often hear that we should do what you love to do while simultaneously helping someone else in need, and this was the perfect opportunity to build my project portfolio while contributing to a wish.”

Throughout the early stages of the process, Lee said Ethan’s energy was infectious. While some members of the team poured over his hand-drawn pictures of characters for the game, others recorded catch phrases, grunts and groans to be used as sound effects in the finished product. They will continue to work with Ethan in the coming months to finalize the game.

“You can’t help but feel a great sense of pride and joy while you watch someone giggle and laugh their way through the project you just poured your soul into,” Lee said.

Kelli Daniels, Ethan’s mother who accompanied him during multiple visits with KSU students and faculty, said watching the game develop has been like seeing a puzzle come together.

“Each person we’ve met along the way is like a piece of the puzzle,” she said. “Ethan has been dreaming of this wish since he was diagnosed. Not just to play games that he made, but also have a game where each child can put themselves into that game and take back the control you lose when you have cancer. Now, all the pieces are coming together, and it’s beginning to feel real.”

Michael Franklin, an assistant professor of gaming who is serving as the faculty advisor for the project, said Ethan’s wish has made for a special edition of the Global Game Jam, which carried the theme of being “a part of something greater.”

“It truly is a privilege to give greater meaning to Global Game Jam by lending our expertise and talented students in helping Ethan realize his dream,” he said. “We are inspired by his personal battle with cancer and his selflessness in choosing a wish that will benefit so many others, and we very much look forward to building a game that reflects his journey.”

– Travis Highfield

Photos by Rob Witzel

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About Make-A-Wish Georgia:

Since 1995, Make-A-Wish® Georgia has been granting the wishes of local children facing critical illnesses. Now, 25 years later, more than 8,000 wish kids and families have experienced the impact of a life-changing wish.  

Make-A-Wish Georgia is a movement, powered by you, to renew families and communities with hope and strength. To learn how you can become a part of our story, visit georgia.wish.org.

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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 47,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.